identity theft: erasure

identity theft: erasure (closed) 2022

In 2022  the  outside panels  were covered with collaged street posters to add texture and additional meaning to the work.   Ancestors of enslaved Africans have had their identities covered for centuries and many of the identifiers (name, language, specific place of origin) of their African ancestry and culture have been covered and/or erased. Original erasers from 2018 have been replaced with vintage erasers.

identity theft: erasure (closed) 2018

H 60" x W 108" x D 7"
Materials: aluminum frame from 10 ft. satellite dish, aluminum mesh, steel plate, masonite, chalkboard paint, acrylic ink, chalk, vintage felt erasers, metal hinges, bolts, screws, velcro, collaged street posters (street posters cover West African Identifiers (West African names, languages, countries and territories - see work and video below from Otis College of Art and Design Residency 2018) 
(2018-2022)

identity theft: erasure (open)

Above: The doors of no return are opened to reveal the erasure of captured African's primary identifiers.
Far left panel has English names assigned to captured Africans (taken from slave ship registers). The inside left panel has possible West African names of captured Africans, erased. The far right panel has names of countries and colonies where enslaved Africans were transported. The inside right panel has West African languages,  countries, territories, erased.

identity theft: erasure (left side open)

Detail: Left Panel: Slave names / Right Panel: West African names erased

identity theft: erasure (right side open)

Detail: Left panel: African languages and places erased / Right panel: Countries and colonies to which enslaved Africans were transported